Chapter 122: Team Battle—Complete Suppression
The moment the match began, the Spirit Hall team had no intention of giving their opponents even a second to catch their breath.
Upon noticing the Elephant Armored Academy's seven members attempting to cluster together, Si Min and Yu Quan immediately ascended and entered their formation to begin a harassment tactic.
For a time, this left Huyan Lei and the others scrambling in disarray.
Meanwhile, standing behind Ye Lusu, Mo Xue quickly summoned the Seven Treasure Glazed Pagoda martial soul. The sight of two yellow and two purple soul rings—four in total—was like a resounding slap across Ning Fengzhi's face up on the high platform.
Salas once again shot Ning Fengzhi a mocking look. As the sect master, Ning Fengzhi obviously couldn't afford to lose his composure in front of Xue Ye. He could only respond with a strained smile, though his hand gripping the armrest of his seat trembled nonstop.
As his daughter, Mo Xue's talent would be considered quite good even within the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect—yet now she stood firmly within the Spirit Hall camp.
This left Ning Fengzhi feeling utterly humiliated. His gaze swept toward Chen Xin beside him, and the Guardian Douluo of the sect immediately nodded, signaling that he understood.
...…
Several rays of light instantly descended into the center of the enemy formation, as well as into the bodies of Si Min and Yu Quan. The speed and momentum of both surged dramatically.
"The Seven Treasures turn forth in glassy light—Second: Speed! Third: Soul!"
A fifty percent boost to both speed and soul power made their harassment efforts incomparably smoother.
Thanks to their long-standing coordination, Shi Nuo and Wei Xu—positioned at the very front of the team—instantly understood what needed to be done. Both stepped back at the same time, retreating to Ye Lusu's side.
The fifth black soul ring on the Thorny Demon Vine lit up in an instant. Amid the horrified gazes of the seven Elephant Armor Academy members, the entire arena began to churn.
"Fifth Soul Skill—Nature's Grasp!"
Countless vines as thick as thighs surged forward like a tidal wave, wrapping around the Elephant Armor Academy formation layer by layer, swiftly pinning them firmly in place.
The seven struggled desperately, trying to break free from the vines' restraints, but without powerful offensive methods, it was impossible for them to do so in a short time.
And now, it was time for the Spirit Hall's attack-type soul masters to shine.
Mo Xue immediately cast her auxiliary light into their bodies.
Stepping forward, Wei Xu and Shi Nuo began charging up at once.
Shi Nuo clasped his hands across his chest in an Iaijutsu stance, and after the Golden Wild Bull behind him expanded to its maximum, he unleashed it with a roar.
"Great Horn!"
Beside him, Wei Xu was no less impressive. Holding his spear in one hand in a sprinter's stance, his third soul ring flared brightly.
"Third Soul Skill—Raging Torrent Dragon Might!"
The massive phantom of the Golden Wild Bull and the razor-sharp spear tip charged straight toward the Elephant Armor Academy formation. Having completed their task, Si Min and Yu Quan withdrew at the same time, quickly leaving the danger zone to avoid friendly fire.
A cloud of dust swept across the field, followed by several dull, thunderous impacts that echoed throughout the stands.
Moments later, agonized cries rang out.
By the time the audience reacted, all seven members of Elephant Armor Academy had already been blasted out of the arena. The group of burly men lay unconscious from the violent collisions.
The referee stepped down to inspect them and, finding only hard-impact injuries with no serious harm, immediately announced the result.
"Third match goes to the Spirit Hall team. Final score: 2–0. They advance to the next round."
Like a single stone stirring ten thousand waves, the Spirit Hall team's crushing dominance was something neither of the previous two seeded teams had displayed. Their powerful coordination delivered an overwhelming visual impact to the audience.
As the result was announced, thunderous cheers erupted across the stands.
At this moment, even the home crowd applauded the visiting team's spectacular performance.
"Honestly, I didn't even get to make a move yet!"
Annoyed that Elephant Armor Academy had fallen too quickly, Qiu Tete—standing at the very back of the team—pouted in dissatisfaction and muttered under her breath.
Only after some coaxing from Lei Ying and Si Min did she finally regain her smile.
Up in the stands, whether it was the members of the Royal Fighting Academy or the group from the Star Luo Royal Academy, all wore grave expressions.
They were confident they could defeat Elephant Armor Academy as well—but absolutely not with the same ease displayed by the Spirit Hall team.
Whether it was Mo Xue, who possessed the Seven Treasure Glazed Pagoda martial soul, or Ye Lusu, the tournament's sole Soul King, both had far exceeded their expectations.
What's more, it seemed that the strongest member of the opposing lineup still hadn't even taken the field.
"Captain, this Spirit Hall team is terrifyingly strong."
"Yeah. Those two who didn't come out must be powerful as well. Compared to the Star Luo Team, they're clearly the opponent we should be paying the most attention to."
Qin Ming nodded in agreement with his teammates' comments, while silently calculating their odds should they face the Spirit Hall team later on.
After a long while, Qin Ming shook his head. No matter how he calculated, their chances of winning seemed to be less than ten percent.
As the captain, he could only swallow the bitterness in his heart. Turning around, he put on a smile and said to his teammates:
"It's fine. Winning the final championship isn't the only way to prove your worth. Just do your best and show your strongest side."
"Yes, Captain."
A similar conversation was taking place within the Star Luo team.
Many of their members had already lost the arrogance they displayed when they first encountered the Spirit Hall team. In hindsight, their earlier behavior now seemed downright clownish.
As for the other side, they simply couldn't be bothered to acknowledge them at all.
"Hmph, what's there to be discouraged about? Under the Hell White Tiger, everything else is meaningless. I'll lead you all to victory."
Dai Moheng's words immediately reignited the team's fighting spirit.
Everyone's eyes lit up. That's right—they still had the Hell White Tiger as their trump card. A mere Soul King or a Soul Ancestor with limit-breaking soul rings was nothing to fear.
As long as they could cover for the captain and vice-captain and successfully execute the martial soul fusion skill, everything would fall into place.
"That's right! The boss is the strongest. We'll definitely win and successfully defend our title!"
Dai Moheng nodded in satisfaction. He had absolute confidence in their martial soul fusion skill.
In fact, the Hell White Tiger truly was formidable. Once he and Zhu Yuwei activated their martial soul fusion skill, even an ordinary Soul Emperor wouldn't stand a chance—why would they fear a mere Soul King?
...…
After the battle concluded, Lin Beiya left Yu Quan behind to wait for the drawing results, then led the rest of the team out of the venue.
Watching the Spirit Hall team depart, a woman with fiery red hair seated somewhere in the stands revealed a contemplative expression. She was Huo Lingyun, captain of Blazing Academy. Having secured first place in the promotion rounds, she had received a bye this round.
By the time another match in the arena ended, Huo Lingyun snapped back to her senses and headed out of the venue as well.
All three major seeded academies had already taken the stage, and the remaining matches weren't particularly worth watching anymore.
As Huo Lingyun left the stands deep in thought, she happened to run into the Sky Water Academy, who had just finished their match and were also preparing to leave.
The idea in her mind instantly magnified without restraint. Stepping forward, she called out to the ice-blue-haired woman walking at the front of the team.
"Jingjing, wait a moment."
"Hm?"
The woman who was called stopped and turned around in confusion, only to see the figure she was most incompatible with.
The Five Element Academies interacted frequently, so Shui Jingjing was naturally familiar with Huo Lingyun as well.
"What is it?"
"Tch, still as cold as ever."
"If you've got something to say, say it. I don't have time to chat."
"What, nervous that you might draw the Spirit Hall team next round, so you're rushing back to study tactics?"
Hearing this, Shui Jingjing immediately revealed a look of disdain.
"Don't you need to prepare as well? That confident, are you?"
"It's not confidence. Do you really think your Sky Water Academy can stand up to them?"
"That's none of your concern."
Thinking Huo Lingyun was merely there to mock them, Shui Jingjing immediately turned to leave with her teammates, whose expressions had also grown unfriendly.
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End of Chapter